Event Calendar

During its period of existence from 1953 to 1968, the Ulm School of Design was one of the most important universities of its kind. It was an institution devoted to the teaching, research and development in the field of design. The interdisciplinary nature of these study guidelines and its renowned founder and professors (Otl Aicher, Inge Aicher-Scholl, Max Bill, Max Bense, Hans Gugelot, Tomás Maldonado, and Gui Bonsiepe) attracted many foreign students, mainly from Latin America, India and Japan. The HfG Ulm was founded 20 years after the dissolution of the Bauhaus school and it has succeeded its claims in a direct and critical way.

The special method of teaching at the HfG, known as “Ulmer Modell”, helped define the role of professional industrial design at the international level and it still has an impact on the global design education till date.

Technology and industry were considered by the “Ulmer Modelle” as cultural phenomena and established the sciences as the main reference point of the design. The goal was to demonstrate the industry and the mass consumption society, rational possibilities that may enable the scientific and technological progress through detailed design stages and the use of new materials, media and techniques.

This innovative perspective on the design deeply shaped the world of commodities (such as the innovative design of the Braun company) and restored the image of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1972 with the design of the Olympic Games. A major protagonist and the inventor of this information design is Otl Aicher. Aicher’s design of the Lufthansa graphics (1962/63) has continued to shape the corporate identity of the company.

The Exhibition

The exhibition of “ulm: method and design- ULM SCHOOL OF DESIGN 1953-1968” focuses on the exploration and visualization of the “Ulmer Modelle” and examines its impact till today. Using large-format photos, text, time charts, graphs, sketches and videos the theoretical priorities, practices and results in its full breadth will be shown.

The exhibition will be opened by Prof. Sudhakar Nadkarni, Dean, Business Design, Welingkar Institute of Management and Research.

Prof. Sudhakar Nadkarni, Born in 1938, studied Industrial Design at the ULM SCHOOL OF DESIGN in Germany after obtaining an MA in Applied Art in Bombay.